Day: April 10, 2020

One of the best time-tested ways to build up the academic abilities of students is by creating teaching strategies that engage parents. When mom or dad (or both) gets actively involved in the classroom setting, it almost always leads to report card success. The publication School Community Journal even acknowledges, “There is a sizable body of research literature supporting the involvement of parents in educational settings and activities.” Of course, getting parents involved in your class is no easy task. But today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributing writer Jacqui Murray, who is also a technology teacher, outlines several ways that educators can engage parents in their classroom goings-on, including: Create a family-friendly environment Hold parent classes Communicate with parents And more! Overall, Jacqui notes that in addition to their classroom roles and teaching strategies, teachers need to be parent resources and that they need to be accessible to them. How do you involve parents in your classes? How successful is this effort? Learn more teaching strategies that will engage parents>> Top 12 Things You Learned In School That Your Students Won’t One of the most-commented upon articles we’ve ever published has been a rundown of the top 12 things that “older” folks learned in school that are now viewed as practically academically obsolete. Some of these endangered classroom species include: Cursive writing Typing Paper-based reference materials And more Are you fighting to keep these lessons alive in your classroom? What did we miss on the list?

Back in the day, multitasking was a badge of honor amongst educators. The more things a teacher could handle at once—grading papers, creating a curriculum, disciplining students – the better he or she was at the educational profession.
But that mindset has been eroded over time. These days, studies have shown that concentrating on one task at a time makes humans much more effective in any working environment, not just the classroom.
Today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributor Jordan Catapano  spells out the downfalls of multitasking. Jordan notes several common multitasking pitfalls, including:
  • You’re more likely to produce errors
  • Your creativity is diminished
  • Your IQ actually decreases
  • And more!

All in all, Jordan notes that teachers (and all other professions) should stop honoring multitasking, and quit pretending that it works: “Technically speaking, it’s impossible for our brains to do two major tasks at once. What we’re really doing when we think we’re multitasking is “task switching,” which means we alternate between tasks,” Jordan notes.
What are your tricks to increase focus and limit multitasking with yourself and your students?
Learn about the problems with multitasking>>
Yoga Pants & the School Dress Code
Dress code debates and figuring out acceptable attire have been around since the invention of school. Today, fashionable female students are donning Yoga pants, those tight, form-fitting-yet-comfy piece of apparel that pushes the boundaries of the school dress code in many districts.
In many circles, Yoga pants, spaghetti straps, bare midriffs, and the like are viewed as being distracting to male students, a point that is well-taken by many in the education field.
Still others argue that “dictating that young women change their appearance because they are ‘distracting’ men inherently objectifies them, and it teaches girls to be ashamed of their bodies.”
So the debate rages on. Today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributor Jordan Catapano (also a high school English teacher) points out the arguments on both sides of the pantleg (his joke) in a great think piece that will get you to respect both debate teams. Check it out – it’s an excellent school dress code op-ed article.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

Teaching Strategies to Involve Parents

One of the best time-tested ways to build up the academic abilities of students is by creating teaching strategies that engage parents. When mom or dad (or both) gets actively involved in the classroom setting, it almost always leads to report card success. The publication School Community Journal even acknowledges, \”There is a sizable body of research literature supporting the involvement of parents in educational settings and activities.\”
Of course, getting parents involved in your class is no easy task. But today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributing writer Jacqui Murray, who is also a technology teacher, outlines several ways that educators can engage parents in their classroom goings-on, including:
  • Create a family-friendly environment
  • Hold parent classes
  • Communicate with parents
  • And more!

Overall, Jacqui notes that in addition to their classroom roles and teaching strategies, teachers need to be parent resources and that they need to be accessible to them.
How do you involve parents in your classes? How successful is this effort?
Learn more teaching strategies that will engage parents>>
Top 12 Things You Learned In School That Your Students Won’t
One of the most-commented upon articles we’ve ever published has been a rundown of the top 12 things that “older” folks learned in school that are now viewed as practically academically obsolete.
Some of these endangered classroom species include:
  • Cursive writing
  • Typing
  • Paper-based reference materials
  • And more

Are you fighting to keep these lessons alive in your classroom? What did we miss on the list?
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

One of the best time-tested ways to build up the academic abilities of students is by creating teaching strategies that engage parents. When mom or dad (or both) gets actively involved in the classroom setting, it almost always leads to report card success. The publication School Community Journal even acknowledges, "There is a sizable body of research literature supporting the involvement of parents in educational settings and activities." Of course, getting parents involved in your class is no easy task. But today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributing writer Jacqui Murray, who is also a technology teacher, outlines several ways that educators can engage parents in their classroom goings-on, including: Create a family-friendly environment Hold parent classes Communicate with parents And more! Overall, Jacqui notes that in addition to their classroom roles and teaching strategies, teachers need to be parent resources and that they need to be accessible to them. How do you involve parents in your classes? How successful is this effort? Learn more teaching strategies that will engage parents>> Top 12 Things You Learned In School That Your Students Won’t One of the most-commented upon articles we’ve ever published has been a rundown of the top 12 things that “older” folks learned in school that are now viewed as practically academically obsolete. Some of these endangered classroom species include: Cursive writing Typing Paper-based reference materials And more Are you fighting to keep these lessons alive in your classroom? What did we miss on the list?

Back in the day, multitasking was a badge of honor amongst educators. The more things a teacher could handle at once—grading papers, creating a curriculum, disciplining students – the better he or she was at the educational profession.
But that mindset has been eroded over time. These days, studies have shown that concentrating on one task at a time makes humans much more effective in any working environment, not just the classroom.
Today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributor Jordan Catapano  spells out the downfalls of multitasking. Jordan notes several common multitasking pitfalls, including:
  • You’re more likely to produce errors
  • Your creativity is diminished
  • Your IQ actually decreases
  • And more!

All in all, Jordan notes that teachers (and all other professions) should stop honoring multitasking, and quit pretending that it works: “Technically speaking, it’s impossible for our brains to do two major tasks at once. What we’re really doing when we think we’re multitasking is “task switching,” which means we alternate between tasks,” Jordan notes.
What are your tricks to increase focus and limit multitasking with yourself and your students?
Learn about the problems with multitasking>>
Yoga Pants & the School Dress Code
Dress code debates and figuring out acceptable attire have been around since the invention of school. Today, fashionable female students are donning Yoga pants, those tight, form-fitting-yet-comfy piece of apparel that pushes the boundaries of the school dress code in many districts.
In many circles, Yoga pants, spaghetti straps, bare midriffs, and the like are viewed as being distracting to male students, a point that is well-taken by many in the education field.
Still others argue that “dictating that young women change their appearance because they are ‘distracting’ men inherently objectifies them, and it teaches girls to be ashamed of their bodies.”
So the debate rages on. Today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributor Jordan Catapano (also a high school English teacher) points out the arguments on both sides of the pantleg (his joke) in a great think piece that will get you to respect both debate teams. Check it out – it’s an excellent school dress code op-ed article.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

Teaching Strategies: About Reader’s Theater

For the uninitiated, reader’s theater is a wonderful, creative way for teachers to bolster a sense of enthusiasm in students’ reading curriculum. Basically, reader’s theater involves students adapting a piece of literature to be “performed” in front of your class.
Frequent TeachHUB.com contributing writer Janelle Cox defines this teaching strategy as, “Reader’s theater is much more than just putting on a play. Remember that students are using the repeated reading strategy which enhances their reading fluency. It is also using cooperative learning, problem-solving skills, and not to mention the common core learning standards of speaking and listening.
At first, these types of teaching strategies might seem like they would involve a ton of classroom time. But in actuality, with just 20 minutes, a teacher can plan a beautifully engaging piece of reader’s theater.
The key is to fit your prep time into the normal part of your teaching day. Today, Janelle explains how educators can pull off some of these exciting classroom teaching strategies, including:
  • Use reader’s theater as part of your literacy center rotations.
  • Match your scripts to the learning standards of other subjects like social studies.
  • Have students put on their production first thing in the morning.
  • And more!

In closing, Janelle notes that reader’s theater is an excellent tactic to increase your kids’ listening, reading, and thinking skills in an engaging new way.
Do you do a reader’s theater in your classroom? What tips do you have that work well for your class?
Get our reader’s theater teaching strategies>>
Technology in the Classroom: 50 Ways to Use Twitter
We’re always on the lookout for new ways that technology in the classroom can be leverages to maximize student involvement, and Twitter continues to evolve as a worthwhile tool in a teacher’s arsenal to further engage kids.
At first glance, it might seem as though Twitter, with its 140-character limitation, is too shallow to be used by teachers in a meaningful way.
However, one of the consistently most popular articles on TeachHUB.com recently has been our rundown of 50 ways to successfully use Twitter in an academic setting. Some examples:
  • Track a hash tag
  • Write a story
  • Write a poem
  • Engage parents
  • And more!

Using technology in the classroom like Twitter can create a nurturing environment for students of all ages.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

Holiday Gifts for Teachers

We all have received the clunker holiday gifts, the ones that don’t even survive the holiday season before they are banished to the refuse bin. We’ve all also received that perfect gift, the one that brings tears to our eyes and that we can use again and again, even through the years.
Today on TeachHUB.com, we look at holiday gifts for teachers, and how to gift the perfect item or act to make the season that much brighter. Frequent contributing writer Jacqui Murray, who is a longtime tech teacher based in Northern California, is the author today, and she notes that some of the most-popular gift items for teachers on your list can include:
  • A Helping Hand
  • Tech Help
  • A Thank-You Letter
  • Holiday Food
  • And More!

But that’s not all! Jacqui also points out some not-so-good holiday gift ideas (and why they are clunkers), including:
  1. Homemade food (lots of people worry about how well these are made. Me, I\’ve actually gotten food poisoning from homemade food).
  2. Intimate gifts (teachers just don\’t know you enough for this).
  3. Jewelry (what\’s beautiful to you might not be to the teacher).
Jacqui sums up her article in this manner: “Remember: You don\’t have to give gifts. Often, a heartfelt greeting or holiday card is as meaningful as a bar of expensive soap or a holiday ornament for the tree. One of my favorite gifts was a framed Thank You to me from a student. I displayed that for years, until I retired and now it has a place of honor in my home office. Whatever you give, make it from your heart, with your love, and carrying a personal meaning.”

What holiday gifts would you add to out list? Let us know in the comment section below the actual article on TeachHUB.com, we would enjoy reading your ideas!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1